


The Tudors, Season 4, Episode 6, You Have My Permission

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: The Tudors (TV)
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s04e06 You Have My Permission, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 04, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28045224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.
Kudos: 2





	The Tudors, Season 4, Episode 6, You Have My Permission

Open to 1542. Mary informs Elizabeth about their restatement to the succession, and not seeming to particularly care, Elizabeth does, nevertheless, come across as genuine when she says, if it makes Mary happy, she’s happy, too.

Mary insists this is proof Henry loves them.

Bringing up what happened with Kitty-Kat, Elizabeth swears she’ll never marry.

Elsewhere, Eustace talks to Henry. This utterly shocks me, but the French and the emperor still hate one another. Furthermore, the French are buddies with the Turks, now, and wanting a joint alliance with Henry, the emperor promises to give all his lost lands back.

Henry manages to dismiss him without throwing a hissy fit, and Eustace and Ambassador Snape glare at one another when the former leaves. Ambassador Snape goes in, and Henry complains about the French not paying the annual fee for two years. Saying he’ll write to the French king, Ambassador Snape urges Henry to keep the alliance with France.

After Ambassador Snape leaves, Henry instructs Edward to write a letter to the Scottish king as well as go to Scotland with N2.

Speaking of, N2 and another man play cards. N2 insults the other man. It’s established they’re both related to Kitty-Kat, and the other guy isn’t happy N2’s side of the family didn’t do a better job of raising her. N2 reacts to this by violently punching the man until guards pull him away.

Next, Tom goes to the Latimer household. Lord Latimer is slowly dying, and his wife, Katherine Parr, is introduced. Lord Latimer explains he was taken hostage by Aske. Henry wanted him to write a denouncement of Aske, and he did. He also came to London to show his loyalty. However, he’s afraid the shadow of treason still hangs over him, and he’d appreciate it if Tom would speak to Henry in his favour.

When he’s finished, he has a violent spell of pain, and Katherine gently guides him to sleep.

She and Tom go to another room, and they begin snogging. They plan to get married once Lord Latimer dies, though, it’s made clear, despite her eagerness to marry Tom, she doesn’t actively wish death on her husband.

At court, Gardiner explains to Henry that N2 was arrested for public disturbance and assault, again. However, he’s willing to serve active duty, and this is enough to get Henry to order his release.

In Scotland, N2 and his men manage to capture three nobles. Promising them they’ll be well treated, he asks them to surrender their swords.

They do.

At a council meeting, Henry reveals the king of Scotland is dead and that his wife gave birth to their only child, a baby girl.

Here, it seems as if King James V died before Mary, Queen of Scots was born, but in reality, he died six days after she was born.

Gardiner believes this is a sign of divine intervene in their favour.

The meeting is dismissed, and Tom stays behind. Henry is annoyed at Tom’s voicing of his opinion N2 got such a light sentence.

At a Christmas feast, Katherine comes to court. Talking to Mary, Mary shows her sympathy for Lord Latimer’s ill-health. Next, Ambassador Snape and Mary speak French to one another, and declaring he thinks she’ll make a perfect bride for some duke, he says he’ll send her said duke’s picture.

The princeling runs through the feast with Elizabeth chasing after him. Edward and Anne appear, and taking his nephew’s hand, Edward introduces the princeling to some the captured nobles. One of them, possibly a father himself, thanks the princeling for speaking to them in person. The princeling declares he’s been practising, and Elizabeth leads him away.

Edward proposes a truce between Scotland and England as well as an engagement between Mary of Scotland and the princeling. Promising them a pension and a release, he says he’s sure their families are missing them at this time of year. “I know how I should feel if I were separated from my own dear wife.”

Whether he would feel this way or not is a bit debatable, but he’d certainly put on an appropriate show if the need arose.

Mary and Charles Brandon talk, and she expresses her sympathy over his separation from CB. Naturally, he hesitantly asks about Henry. Mary says Henry’s mostly gotten over what happened with Kitty-Kat, although, she’s not sure what’s causing his current good mood.

Able to read the signs even when he’s mostly avoiding court, Charles Brandon suggests it could be the triumph over Scotland.

Henry appears, and some acrobats put on a show. Then, Tom comes to talk to Henry. Explaining about Lord Latimer, he points Katherine out. Henry asks what this has to do with Tom, and answering he’s a friend of the Latimer family, Tom states he believes in Lord Latimer’s complete loyalty to Henry.

Henry, however, realises Tom has designs on Katherine. He orders Tom to bring Katherine to him (Henry).

Meanwhile, Henry hears Charles Brandon apologising to Ambassador Snape for being unable to answer a question about Henry due to be away from court, and Henry waves him over.

Henry declares Charles Brandon has been absent for a long time, and Charles Brandon answers he’s been tending to his estates. Correctly pointing out he’s afraid Henry’s still angry, reaching over to touch him, Henry tells him not to be so careful he neglects his sovereign.

Charles Brandon can’t stop the soft smile appearing on his face, and there’s no other way to describe the way he looks at Henry but to say he looks like a worshipful puppy.

Unsurprisingly, Henry’s next words are, “Anyway, I want you to do something for me.”

Charles Brandon goes to talk to Eustace. At first, Eustace’s servant tries to send him away, due to Eustace’s gout leaving him bedridden, but Eustace insists on taking the meeting. Charles Brandon gives him a secret treaty of alliance between Henry and the emperor, and extremely happy, Eustace promises to deliver it as fast as possible.

Even with the three seconds it takes an email to arrive, Henry could suddenly change his mind. I doubt the week(s) or month(s) it takes to rush the letter to the emperor will matter in terms of it arriving before Henry can decide he hates them, again.

Next, Katherine comes to talk to Henry, and he assures her there’s no suspicion of treason against her husband or her and her family. They discuss her husband’s imprisonment by Aske and her lack of children despite her two marriages. Henry asks if she believes if happy marriages actually exist, and she expresses her firm belief they do.

Meanwhile, Gardiner talks to Risley, Henry’s letter writer. Due to the treaty, Gardiner wants to start prosecuting Protestants, Lutherans, etc.

I sometimes wonder if Gardiner partially does this in revenge for Wolsey. Wolsey was his employer, and both Anne and Cromwell contributed to Wolsey’s downfall.

There’s an implication Gardiner suspects Risley of being one of the heretics.

At the Latimer house, Henry has sent presents to Katherine. Uncomfortable, she tries to assure her husband nothing is going on, but he’s sad and resigned.

In a meeting, Charles Brandon looks from Eustace to Henry. Gardiner explains Henry’s going to swear to be friends with the emperor.

As many times as these people have sworn to God to be bestest friends forever, it’s gotten to the point where the oath holds no meaning.

Henry signs the treaty.

After others leave, Eustace and Ambassador Snape duke it out until Charles Brandon gives Ambassador Snape a formal declaration of war between their two countries.

Elsewhere, Katherine comes to visit Tom. He compliments her beauty, and she explains the dress she’s wearing is a present from Henry. Tom is jealous another man wants to cheat with the married woman he’s cheating with. She begs him to believe she hasn’t encouraged Henry, and he asks if she doesn’t want to be Queen of England. Empathetically answering no, she points out the horrible things such women experience. He assures her lonely Henry’s infatuation with her will soon pass.

Back at the castle, there’s a meeting, and the queen regnant of Scotland has agreed for negotiations to begin for the engagement to her daughter to the princeling. Bringing up some suspected Calvinist church musicians to Henry, Gardiner glares daggers at the Seymours.

Henry gives Gardiner permission to go on a heretic hunt.

In the next scene, one of the running church musicians ends up in the Seymour apartments. Edward refuses to help him since doing so would condemn Edward, and when the musician brings up the fact he’ll be tortured, Anne threatens to hurt his wife and children if he names Edward.

Meanwhile, Eustace and Mary talk. It’s revealed Mary has recently been sick, and Eustace talks about a new law requiring the king’s wife to disclose her past sexual misdeeds on the pain of death. He continues this might make it harder for Henry to remarry due to the fact the single women at court aren’t all virgins.

Though his wording isn’t outright hateful, it is rather shaming.

Mary wants her father to remarry, but Eustace points out with Henry’s tendency to either kill or put away his wives, there may not be any women who want him.

Elsewhere, the blood-covered musician is urged by Gardiner to give up the Calvinists above him in exchange for his life. He demands the musician name Edward in particular.

At a dinner party composed of the Seymour brothers, Mary, Katherine, Charles Brandon, Eustace, and Henry, Henry asks about Lord Latimer. Saying he’s unable to get out of bed, Katherine thanks Henry for the dress and other gifts whilst insisting she doesn’t deserve them. At Henry’s response he wanted to give her good cheer so that he could see her smile, this provokes a genuine smile out of her.

Next, Henry brings up the upcoming war. Charles Brandon declares his eagerness for it to begin, and working as a server, N2 expresses his eagerness, too.

Henry decides he and Katherine will pay cards.

Mary and Eustace watch them, and Mary makes it clear she hopes her father will marry Katherine when the time comes.

Charles Brandon asks Edward about the men Gardiner arrested. They’re in the tower, and Edward wants to know why Charles Brandon is curious. Refusing to answer, Charles Brandon walks away.

He genuinely liked John Seymour, but because of the princeling, Edward has a great deal of power over Henry. One of the ways he used this power was to deny Charles Brandon access to baby Edward, and just as Charles Brandon could never forgive Cromwell for delivering the news of his banishment, he can never forgive Edward for this.

Tom is less-than-subtle in his watching of the card game.

Katherine wins a round, and Henry gives her jewellery. She tries politely refusing, but he insists. Then, having noticed Tom’s oh-so-subtle staring, he sends him as a permanent envoy in Brussels.

Later, Charles Brandon pours drinks for both Henry and himself, and bracing himself, he asks if Henry is considering another marriage. The answer is, “Perhaps.”

Bringing up the war next, he asks if Henry really wants to fight again. Answering in the affirmative, he says he thought Charles Brandon did, too.

They’re both past the stage where anything Charles Brandon wants or needs has any relevance, and Charles Brandon has more-or-less accepted this.

Charles Brandon, again, brings up the remarriage bit, and instead of asking why Charles Brandon is focusing so much on this, Henry has a fit about still being able to have children and be himself, yada yada yada.

Meanwhile, Lord Latimer is having last rites performed. Katherine says she needs to tell him something, presumably about Tom or Henry, and despite the fact he’s been presented as a nice guy up until this point, he tells him wife, “Go to hell,” before dying.

There’s a shot of Henry lying in bed.

The next day, Edward and Risley come to see Katherine in order to propose on Henry’s behalf.

Right, the day after her husband dies, Henry thinks it’d be a good idea to propose, but he doesn’t think coming to propose in person is worth the effort. Even without his horrible track record when it comes to wives, I can’t imagine why he might have trouble finding an enthusiastic marriage partner.

Fin.


End file.
